This is really not the best of times for embattled Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, as the impeachment threat recently dangled at him by members of the state House of Assembly, over the 2019 budget presentation, is an indication that it is not yet uhuru for the outgoing Epe-born governor.
The new threat is coming despite several public announcements made by the governor to support the All Progressives Congress gubernatorial candidate, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in next month’s election, after his (Ambode) defeat in the primary election last year.
Recall that last week, the lawmakers threatened to commence impeachment proceedings against Gov. Ambode over what they alleged as financial contraventions in the 2018 budget and the yet-to-be-laid 2019 Appropriation Bill. The state House of Assembly had summoned the governor and other relevant commissioners to appear before it in seven days to explain themselves. The lawmakers threatened that if the governor and the invited commissioners failed to show up, gathering of signatures for the governor’s impeachment would begin. During plenary where the deliberation was done at the Assembly, the lawmakers took turns to condemn the governor, with some asking him to resign.
What appeared to be a shocking move, however, occurred a few days later as the Assembly reconvened for an emergency meeting, where the lawmakers reaffirmed their bid to impeach the governor over what they alleged as gross misconduct.
Ambode’s supporters chide lawmakers
The face-off between the governor and the lawmakers took another turn when some groups stormed the House of Assembly to protest against the lawmakers’ decision to impeach Ambode.
The groups included the Lagos Peoples’ Assembly and the Lagos Liberation Movement. The groups, which blocked the entrance of the Lagos House, carried different placards appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the case.
A leader of one of the groups, Declan Ihekaire, explained the mission for the protest in one of the letters presented to the Assembly leadership.
“Our credible investigation revealed that both arms of government are worried that the budget delay will invariably affect the ability of the government to complete various infrastructural projects commenced by the administration, littering the state. However, if this impasse is allowed to fester into huge political conflagration, the state and the residents would be the victims of such conflict. Besides, the fact that general election is fast approaching, mischievous detractors of both sides would not hesitate to gain maximum personal aggrandizement from the conflict. This is a situation that has the potential to disrupt the tradition of seamless transition of power and undermine its social and economic geometric pace of development. We, therefore, on behalf of the good people of Lagos state, call on both the governor and Assembly to sheath their swords and concentrate on the dire need to complete all the ongoing infrastructural projects in the state,” the letter read.
The Majority Leader of the Assembly, Sanai Agunbiade, accompanied by three other lawmakers, subsequently addressed the protesters as he assured them that their views would be taken intoconsideration by the lawmakers.
We appreciate the peaceful way they have comported themselves. It is our responsibility to make laws and do other oversight functions as enshrined in the constitution. But the people also have the right to observe what we are doing and offer their opinion. The lawmakers here cannot fully reply to their demands because we are only four. We will report their opinion to the House and deliberate on it,” Agunbiade said.
Meanwhile, LLM, in a statement, jointly signed by Comrades Mark Adebayo and Olufemi Lawson, convener and secretary, respectively, said it viewed the latest move against Governor Ambode as the “height of legislative rascality and abuse of office by the lawmakers.”
The statement read in part, “We wish to call the attention of Lagosians and Nigerians to the latest move by some members of the Lagos State House of Assembly, currently making an attempt to hoist something that is totally undemocratic on the people of Lagos, where they seek to, for no justifiable reason, attempt impeachment of the governor. The Assembly, led by Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, has deviated from its statutory responsibility of law making, and planning to hijacking Executive responsibilities.
“The Assembly is beginning to position itself, as a clog in the wheel of progress, and has refused to appreciate the unprecedented statesman role, played by Governor Ambode in stabilising the state, despite the reactionary manipulations against his administration.”
The group also blamed the current development on former Governor of Lagos State and National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, saying, “This latest onslaught has totally unfolded a civilian coup in the state. Keeping the Chief Executive Officer in hostage and disbursing the state’s funds for personal interest, will no longer be tolerated.”
However, reacting to the protests, the lawmakers insisted on following due process and the Nigerian 1999 Constitution on matters concerning financial infractions and impunity by the Governor. Agunbiade and the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Funmilayo Tejuosho, after a closed door meeting, said the Assembly would follow due process.
Agunbiade said, “We are aware that Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode is our Governor and still the Governor of the state but he must follow the procedures of the law and should he fail to present the budget as expected, the House would do the needful. We are going to activate the process of impeachment as stated in the 1999 Constitution if he fails to present the budget accordingly. We have given him a window of opportunity to defend himself, but if he fails, the House will go on with the process of impeachment. We decided to correct the misconception and the wrong information that have been fed to the public.
“We wish to state clearly that today, about five groups paid visits to the House of Assembly and in all, what we found out was that, they have come to plead with the House of Assembly not to impeach the Governor of the state. We want the public to know that the major issue is the 2019 Appropriation Bill which, by now, we feel should have been before the House of Assembly because the stipulation of the Constitution is that the Appropriation Bill, which the Governor shall cost are to be prepared and laid before the legislature. It should be done before the commencement of another fiscal year, which is January to December and that is what we have been seeing in the Lagos House of Assembly for the past few years.”
Other side of the coin
Although the major allegation against Governor Ambode by the lawmakers is on financial contraventions, findings by The Point have revealed that there is more to the issue than meets the eye.
Sources within the party said the move against the governor was not unconnected with his perceived move to work secretly with the major opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, ahead of the coming election.
One of the women leaders in the party, who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, said, “We understand his move and our leaders have investigated and caught him red handed. We also know the traitors among us who are working for him, but we will not give them a breathing space to succeed. I, personally, have heard about the governor’s moves, but I didn’t believe it until when everything was revealed to members.”
It was also gathered that Ambode fell out with the lawmakers after the Assembly endorsed the APC governorship candidature of Sanwo-Olu, who went on to beat Ambode during the primary election of October 2, 2018.
Another party member from Lagos Island, who also did not want to be identified, said, “The governor has not been in good terms with the lawmakers because they moved against him to adopt Sanwo-Olu in the primary election. He has since been snubbing them because he can’t stand them for betraying him in October 2018, when Sanwo-Olu emerged their favourite and eventual governorship flagbearer. This has led to insinuations in the party that Ambode has become the enemy within and is secretly sabotaging Sanwo-Olu’s campaign while backing an opponent behind the scenes.”
Lawmakers playing to the gallery – Agbaje
The candidate of the PDP in the forthcoming governorship election in Lagos State, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, has, however, said that the lawmakers are playing to the gallery on Ambode’s impeachment. He maintained that the moves by the lawmakers had some political undertone yet to be revealed.
“Of course, the way Lagos politics has been structured over the last two decades, government’s actions are often dictated by open and covert objectives. That the legislators are hinging their action on the purported delay of the budget is simply a smokescreen for a very shameful undertone that the Honourable Assembly members will not want to make open. They are yet to tell us their actual motivation for this superfluous move to shame the Governor,” Agbaje said.
He added that the timing of the impeachment by the lawmakers was totally wrong, especially as the general election was fast approaching.
“I received the news of the impending impeachment of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode with a lot of reservation, especially with its timing and motive. This is just 19 or so days to the federal elections and the governorship, a fortnight thereafter. So the natural questions to ask are: Why this haste? And what is the motive?” Agbaje said.
He added that although the Legislature reserved the right to perform oversight functions, “such a responsibility should not be abused. It should be carried out in a manner that places the citizens’ interest above any pecuniary benefit to a vested interest.”
According to Agbaje, governance has been affected as a result of the schism between the two arms of government, both of which are dominated by APC. “From all indications and from the findings that I have conducted, the action of the lawmakers is nothing but self-serving, as dictated to them by the cabal ruling the state,” he said.